Thursday, October 23, 2014

I appreciate all those who've continued to stop by the Catacombs during my extended absence, thank you guys so much for your patience. I've had repeated emails asking after me and/or to inquire about "why all the silence?'

The answer is - no reason in particular - other than many months spent moving one client out of the data center where I work, and also bringing in a much bigger organization to replace that one. Busy; yeah.

I still have an archive of classic comics stories to share, and hope to get all of that stuff up sometime in the near future ....... although when that will actually be is still somewhat up in the air. You may notice the image accompanying this message too, if not, please give it a glimpse. Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out on November 18, and it is safe to say that I will be lost in this game for quite a while. Love the DA franchise, and this game ups the ante quite a bit from past releases

with a main story campaign, sidequests and extras that are included pushing a single game to upwards of 180+ hours.

My gaming has supplanted much of my genre interests these days. Only classic comics hold any appeal. Why anyone would still be buying current releases from DC or Marvel, both of which have gone batshit crazy in their pathetic efforts to hold on to aging fanboys, is beyond me.

Give me a bit longer to get back into the saddle here, and again, thanks to all those who've reached out privately to me in the interim.

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!